Record pre-orders cause Apple iPhone 6 shipments to delay by four weeks

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Apple’s new flagship iPhone 6 went out-of-stock within a few hours of its launch with record number of pre-orders and the Apple Online Store went down for maintenance.

Shipments of the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus will be delayed by three to four weeks while the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 will face a delay of 10 days. US carriers like Verizon, AT&T and Sprint have delayed their shipment due to the massive demand for the devices. Apple’s Online Store went into a maintenance due to high traffic, which could have resulted in a server crash. Ebay had also listed a 128GB gold iPhone 6 Plus at a starting price of $1625 on Friday.

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“Response to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has been incredible with record number of pre-orders overnight. Pre-orders are currently available online or through the Apple Store app,” said spokeswoman Trudy Miller.

Apple is facing a supply crunch as there has been production issues that caused a decreased supply of screens. Apple fans in China will also have to wait as the device will be shipped only by early 2015. However, third-party sellers on Ebay and Craiglist took full advantage of the short supply of the new iPhone. Craiglist also offered the iPhone 6 with a price tag of $10,000. AT&T Mobility CEO Glenn Lurie stated that was the biggest iPhone pre-launch day ever.

The company is well-known for making use of marketing tactic as consumers try their best to get their hands on the new devices. The practice of sellers listing the iPhone at premium prices is prevalent in most worldwide markets bulk orders are placed by them in advance.